Kumeu Car Festival

“A” Picnic In The Park

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More than 250 Model A’s of every body style and configuration—from period-correct restorations to rusto rods—came together recently at Hart Park in the city of Orange, California. The occasion was the 52nd annual pancake breakfast hosted by the Orange County chapter of the Model-A Ford Club of America. Earlier and later early Fords are also welcomed, as pictured on both flanks, but the center stage is still reserved for cars and trucks that rolled off of Henry’s assembly line between 1928 and 1931.

’70s Survivors

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Old Bridge Township Raceway Park’s recent NHRA Summernationals brought this eclectic group of famous artists together for possibly the first—and hopefully not last—time ever. Possibly no other five individuals in motorsports history have inhaled more paint fumes (among other things!) than (left to right) Bob Gerdes (Circus Custom Paints), Julian Braet (Mr. J Signs), Kenny Youngblood, Glen Weisgerber (Glen Designs), and “Jim the Painter” Hartner. A real, real good time was had by all, we presume.

Willy Rare

From age seven, Rob Ida knew he wanted a Willys. His father’s shop, Ida Automotive, was a major force on the early East Coast gasser scene, and Bob himself was a regular winner in his own 409-powered A/GS Willys before retiring to concentrate on the Morganville, New Jersey, operation. Father and son have since amassed an impressive collection of Willys cars, trucks, and rare parts. Their shared dream of finding an original, unmolested coupe was realized with the discovery of a rust-free, 49,000-mile ’42 Arizona car owned for two decades by fellow collector Eddie Belfour, the Stanley Cup–winning NHL goalie. Although it hadn’t moved under power in more than 30 years, when Rob went to look at the car, he was able to turn over the engine. After a trip to the local parts store for a six-volt battery, fluids, hoses, and a few small parts, the four-banger fired right up. He’s been driving it ever since, and even made one eighth-mile pass at the dragstrip (14.70 seconds at 49 mph)—where lovely Taylor Miller couldn’t resist Rob’s invitation to slide into the driver’s seat.

Les Paul Lives

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When Gibson Guitars' custom shop offered to loan out some background props for this issue's Parts With Appeal section, ad-guy and moonlighting musician Mark Dewey offered to bring them in to the photo session at Estrus Racing. These electric guitars were so impressive and period-perfect for HRD that we worked them both into this shop scene, along with cover-girl Crystal Bentley. Each instrument is a faithful, affordable reproduction of famous '50s originals that have escalated deep into six-figure territory. Crystal is holding the reissued Gold-Top Les Paul, whic comes complete with a patina finish and tarnished hardware. Beside her is the Tobacco-Burst model, also built to Les Paul's original specs. Get more information at GibsonCustom.com.

Cruisin’ Customs

About 700 rods, customs, and low riders drew a huge crowd to the West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals in Santa Maria, California, on Memorial Day weekend. The 32nd annual event, featuring only pre-1961, American-made vehicles, kicked off on Friday with a cruise down the main drag, South Broadway. Located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on California’s central coast, Santa Maria is famous for its 58 wineries the other 51 weekends of each year, but not on Memorial Day weekend. This show and its host club are widely credited for helping ignite the resurgent popularity of customized cars. Head to WestCoastKustoms.com for more information on this great event.

Bookmobilia

Do your part to help two HRD contributors, Tommy Lee Byrd and Scotty Gosson, pay the rent by purchasing their respective CarTech books. Tommy’s new Lost Drag Strips traces the births, lives, and deaths of defunct tracks including Lions, OCIR, Riverside, Bee-Line, Motion, Motor City, Oswego, U.S. 30, Dover, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Pocono in words and pictures. A bonus is the well-written foreword by Big Daddy himself. Scotty’s latest is America’s Wildest Show Rods of the 1960s & 1970s, featuring the good, bad, and ugly from the peak period of custom-car shows. Whoever laid out these colorful pages (not the author!) mismatched several photo captions, unfortunately, but historical details and 300-plus pictures more than compensate for that minor annoyance. Order both books direct from the publisher at CarTechBooks.com or (800) 551-4754. HRD was still just a gleam in our parent company’s eye when The Business of Speed was released, but its well-researched content is timeless, and the 343-page hardcover is still available from Amazon.com. Published by the highly respected Johns Hopkins University Press, David N. Lucsko’s textbooklike history of aftermarket speed equipment goes all the way back to the 1910s and its Midwestern origins, shedding long-overdue light on manufacturers that preceded southern California’s eventual industry dominance.

Strip Ts

Two ambitious restoration projects are getting underway on the West and East Coasts. Photographer Tim Sutton (kustomimaging@mac.com), one of our favorite freelancers, is seeking photos for a friend who reportedly dug the Dean & White A/Altered “out of the ground” somewhere in California. He’s got the big pieces, as you can see, plus valuable input from friends of the late drag and land-speed racer Nolan White, but needs help identifying and positioning the suspension and other components. The Eastern barn find belongs to an old friend of ours, memorabilia dealer Mike Goyda (Goyda.com). “It’s not a famous hot rod, but then it never got the opportunity,” Mike writes. “Everything you see was purchased in 1965 and has been sitting in a barn ever since. The guy who bought it back then mounted the brackets for the wishbones and cut out a plywood reinforcement for the firewall, then stopped working on it.” We’ll look forward to seeing and publishing photos of both completed projects.

Gravity Power

Among this year’s entries into Show Low, Arizona’s, annual Soap Box Derby race was Larry Robinson’s homebuilt slingshot, made from wood (hand-carved engine block, heads, blower and manifold, pulleys, injector, fuel pump, magneto) and scrap metal. The chassis and body are reminiscent of Paul Sutherland’s Charger, a leading contender to legitimately shatter drag racing’s 200-mph “barrier” until the Race Car Engineering chassis builder crashed in the summer of 1964. Bicycle wheels are cleverly concealed inside the rear tires. Jill Tippin, the dragster’s main sponsor, explains that the host town was named after a “show-low” card game between two men vying for ownership of the host city. The winner pulled the deuce of clubs and promptly renamed the town.

Scene at the Kumeu Car Festival

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Auckland is New Zealand's answer to L.A.: great weather and beaches, a sprawling metropolis with the associated traffic problems, large enough size for various parts to have their own unique character. West Auckland’s annual Kumeu Car Festival is known for attracting what Kiwis refer to as “bogans” of both sexes—recognizable for their black T-shirts and jeans, advanced partying abilities, and fascination with American iron—along with a wide variety of hot rods, muscle cars, and rare stockers. Anyone driving something interesting gets free entry to the two-day event, so the range of machinery dragged out of sheds is impressive. With no local car industry to protect, New Zealanders have always had relatively good access to and a fondness for American cars. Now, with the Kiwi dollar close to a 20-year high against the greenback, even more Detroit iron is being imported. Te event is always held on the third weekend of January (in the middle of the southern hemisphere’s summer). Next year’s 20th-anniversary show is sure to be extra special, well worth a hop across the Pacifc. Once you’re over the jet lag, you’ll feel very much at home, as illustrated by this overview of the 19th edition.

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32/36<strong>No Junk Mail:</strong> From the “52” and what little we see of the body, we’re guessing it’s an Aussie-built 1952 Holden (GM). Trick touches include the mailbox-style air scoop, complete with multiposition “flag,” and the personalized plate. We approve.

36/36<strong>Horny:</strong> Many folks camp overnight for the big weekend, so it’s nice to have somewhere handy to hang out the laundry.